Retirement

This is the time of year when most companies with calendar year plans start reviewing their discrimination test to see if they passed or if they have to refund any contributions to the highly compensated employee group. Columnist John Ludwig shares best practices for keeping your clients in compliance.

AOL Inc. is reversing a new policy for staff retirement plans that would have forced employees who leave before the end of the year to forfeit benefits.

AOL Inc. blamed President Barack Obama’s health care law for its plan to reduce spending on contributions to employees’ 401(k) retirement plans.

Cost-effective exchange-traded funds, relatively unknown in the 401(k) market, are now a reality for the 1.3 million retirement plan participants of Charles Schwab’s Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.

Some 403(b) plan sponsors believe that if they are exempt from ERISA, they cannot be held accountable as an acting-fiduciary. This is a misconception.

The first trading day of February was one for the ages as equity markets dipped at historical levels and uncertainty still faces the Federal Reserve’s tapering plans. With these tumultuous market events swirling, 401(k) plan sponsors are keeping an eye on asset levels.

Coming just on the heels of President Obama’s unveiling of the new MyRA proposal, Senator Tom Harkin announced Thursday the finalized details for his Universal, Secure, Adaptable Retirement Funds Act – legislation he hopes will provide a stable and financially solid mechanism for the 75 million Americans without access to workplace retirement plans.

A joke, a good start or a breakthrough?

In this commentary, one retirement plan adviser says government efforts and taxpayer funds would be better directed to educating employees on the importance of contributing to their 401(k) accounts and providing additional tax incentives for those few employers that have not already established a 401(k) plan.

Being prepared for retirement is no longer an after-thought as President Barack Obama boldly claimed at last night’s State of the Union; TIAA-CREF’s new survey adds to this national conversation, noting that one-in-three covered Americans say they place guaranteed income at top of their retirement to-do list, but many are faced with problems that their traditional retirement offerings can’t answer.